Shenoy


Shenoy is a Konkani surname from coastal Karnataka and Goa in India. It is found among Hindus of the Goud Saraswat Brahmin community following Smartha Sampradaya of Kavale Matha or Madhva Sampradaya of either Gokarna Matha or Kashi Matha.
The name is also in use among some Brahmin Christian families of South Canara who trace their ancestry to the Goud Saraswat Brahmins of Karnataka, Kerala and Goa.

Etymology

There are two theories about the origin of Shenoy or Shenvi.
  1. The Sanskrit word Shrenipati, meaning the leader of the guild, which got converted as Shennivayi in Apabhraṃśa, and later as Shenai or Shenvi in old Konkani.
  2. It is from the Sanskrit word for 96, ṣaṇṇavati. The significance of the word 96 among Konkanis is that 96 villages formed the core region of Goa. It is said that 96 clans / families of Saraswat Brahmins arrived in Gomantak and settled in one village each. 66 villages were in Sashti region and 30 villages were in Tiswadi region.

    Background and origins

The Shenoys were generally involved in administration of the city and temples. The word 'Shenoy' itself means a writer or accountant. GSBs were administrators of the temples. The word 'Shenoy' is also interchangeable with its counterpart .
The Saraswats migrated from Goa during the Muslim and Christian conquests during 1600, and carried their surname with them. Shenoy is derived from old Konkani word šeṇəy. Thus the word 'शणै' is transliterated in Latin script as Shenoy in Karnataka and as Xennai, Shenoi, Shenai, Shenvi or even Sinai in Goa. Xennoi is less commonly used in the erstwhile Portuguese Goa and Damaon, but nowadays it has given way to Xennai'' today.
It was common in Goa for Shenoys and other Saraswats to add the name of their ancestral village or title after Shenoy to denote their origin.

Notable people